Courtney Carpinello ’15, Amanda Paolino: With J-term still a year away, anticipation is already rising from the school community. As head of the J-term committee, Academic Dean Catherine Hall, stated, “J term provides a rigorous and unique opportunity for in-depth study.” Moreover, the elimination of midterms will encourage students to spend more time learning for the sake of learning as opposed to learning to earn a certain grade.
J-term, which will take place during the two weeks after winter break, will offer mostly on-campus classes with a few off-campus options. Teachers will offer a wide range of interdisciplinary courses that allow students to explore individual interests not currently covered by the curriculum.
When creating J-term, the amount of time required was a major concern. Currently, the first semester is five days longer than the second and does not end until January, meaning that students do not take their midterms until after winter break. Adding J-term on top of midterms either would take another two weeks away from class time or force the school year to be extended.
In light of this dilemma, the decision has been made to officially remove midterms. As a result, no time is lost and the length of the school year will remain the same. Now the first semester will end prior to winter break, and J-term will act as a transition period into the second semester, which will now be five days longer than the first. Semester courses will not be affected because they will still have exams, but now they will be placed before winter break
Advanced Placement (AP) course teachers are arguably the most affected by the removal of midterms because they have a rigid curriculum that cannot be amended. AP United States History teacher, Charles Bryant, explained, “It will affect the assessments, but no actual teaching time is lost.” Therefore, teachers would not be subjected to any limiting time constraints that could jeopardize the pace at which material is taught.
However, because the AP exams are written in a way that students are not used to seeing, Bryant likes to give his students an opportunity to practice this type of the exam on the midterm. He stated, “We’re losing practice, but we still see the value in this, so we’re just going to have to change the way we do things.”
He added, “We don’t want to overwhelm students, but a lot of us may end up giving cumulative tests before Thanksgiving break or other times throughout the year.”
Many in the student body are looking forward to this change. Cole Testaiuti ‘16 stated, “It sounds more interesting than midterms. An experience is always better than a test.”
Christine McCann ’15 commented, “I think this is a really good idea. It’s better to take two weeks learning something new than to take two weeks reviewing what we’ve already learned.”
Victoria Johnson ’14 agreed, noting, “This is a good decision, and J-term is a great way to get people excited for the second semester. I’m excited to get to study subjects that Episcopal doesn’t usually offer.”
Moreover, J-Term gives students a rare opportunity to explore topics that pertain directly to their interests and to learn for the sake of learning. For two weeks, they will be able to study what truly inspires them instead of cramming in information or memorizing facts that they will forget shortly thereafter.
While many in the community are optimistic about the elimination of midterms, in order for the J-Term to be a truly fulfilling learning experience, students must resolve that they will invest themselves fully and take advantage of this upcoming opportunity.

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